Appraising a relative’s house.

[Craig Roberts]

My mother asked me to appraise her house and some land. This isn’t mortgage related she just wanted to know the value. Would this be a conflict of interest or would it be okay as long as it’s disclosed in the appraisal report? Also there would be no charge for the appraisal because, after all, she is my mother

 

[Jodi Knox]

This is a USPAP violation because you have a vested intrest in the property. You could inherit it.

 

[alysia ateeb]

its conflict ..please read the USPAP...

 

[Stone]

It is not against USPAP if you disclose the situation your certification. Don't use a lending form with a pre-printed cert and you will be fine.

Personally, if I was to do what you are asking, I would disclose it in a couple of different areas besides the certification, just to be sure there would be no misuse of the report.

 

[Steve Owen]

Michael is correct. However, I would add one additional caveat. Whether you can do this or not, as a practical matter, might depend on the intended use of the report.

For example, one of our Missouri board members once suggested appraising your own house as a way to gain additional experience for your log or to create a sample appraisal for new clients. Therefore, based on that information, the first two posters are obviously wrong if you are in Missouri.

On the other hand, I just hired another appraiser to appraise my Mother's house last month. He put it on the wrong form... so, there was a technical error I would not have made. But, there was nothing wrong with his analysis. And... here's the biggie... we can use it when marketing the house. It can be shown to a potential buyer and will have credibility. If I had done it myself, even if I managed to remain completely unbiased, it would not appear credible to anyone I was negotiating a price with.

 

[Mr Rex]

I thought this was groundhog day, but I guess it was a double post from the other day, that somehow got resurrected.:new_smile-l:

 

[Stone]

On the other hand, I just hired another appraiser to appraise my Mother's house last month. He put it on the wrong form... so, there was a technical error I would not have made. But, there was nothing wrong with his analysis. And... here's the biggie... we can use it when marketing the house. It can be shown to a potential buyer and will have credibility. If I had done it myself, even if I managed to remain completely unbiased, it would not appear credible to anyone I was negotiating a price with.

That is a good, practical, point. I would only do it if there really is no use for the appraisal beyond simply wanting to know. If she wants to do anything else, definitely have someone else take care of it. Pretty hard to use an appraisal you've done for anything beyond simple knowledge.

This comes up every so often. To those who think it is against USPAP, read the certificate in that book, as opposed to the pre-printed lending version.

 

[Mountain Man]

Collect some data, take a good look at it, and sit down with your mother. She doesn't need a written report.